Compiling materials and suggestions for educators in Yiddish Studies is a passion of mine.
Teach Great Jewish Books, a website of the Yiddish Book Center, offers resource kits aimed at instructors at the high school level. I have created several kits, which include cultural and literary materials curated around a theme, together with suggested questions and activities.
- Rosh Chodesh and the Transformation of Ritual
- A Million Matzo Balls (with Rachel B. Gross)
- Abraham Cahan’s Yekl
- The Sukkah in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture
- Esther: A Heroine For Our Time?
- Sacrilege and Sacredness on Yom Kippur
- Gluckel of Hameln: The Life of an Early Modern Jewish Woman (with Julie Rezmovic-Tonti)
- This is the Moment I Trained for in Hebrew School
- A Cultural History of Channukah Gelt
- Kol Nidre: Variations on a Theme
- Miriam Karpilove’s Diary of a Lonely Girl
- Yenta Mash’s “A Seder in the Taiga”
Teaching Guides for In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies
These teaching guides, centered around materials translated and published on In geveb, are designed for university-level instructors and include discussion questions, writing prompts, and annotated bibliographies.
- Teaching Guide to Leon Kobrin’s “Blessed is the True Judge” In Geveb. October 2021.
- Teaching Guide to Erotic Yiddish Poetry In Geveb. April 2019.
- “Teaching Guide for Kerler’s “Old Man” and “The Sea” (trans. Evrona).” In Geveb. January 2017.
- “Teaching Guide for Dik’s ‘Slavery or Serfdom’ (Trans. Rosenblatt).” In Geveb. October 2016.
“Loyt Di Lerers / Teachers Weigh In” Series
During my tenure as Pedagogy Editor for In geveb, I created surveys of Yiddish studies instructors and published the results.
- Teaching with Sholem Aleichem
- The Person Teaching with Yiddish
- Intermediate Yiddish
- Yiddish Clubs and Reading Groups
- Teaching Texts in Translation
Stand-Alone Articles
In addition, I have published several articles, reflections, and activities about teaching Yiddish language and culture.
Improvisational Performance in the Language Classroom: An Example from a Beginner’s Yiddish Class, In geveb. March 26, 2020.
“Yiddish Translations of American Literature in Your American Literature Class” – Part One; Part Two. Pedagogy in American Literary Studies. March 2020.
“Teaching Yiddish Through Song“ In geveb. February 13, 2019.
“From Kansas to Kentucky in a Jewish Literature Classroom: A “Creative Option” for Reflection Papers.” In geveb. November 2017.
“In geveb in the Classroom: Getting to Know the Best Dressed Better.” In geveb. February 2016.
“Games for Small Groups.” In geveb. November 2015.